Ashley Judd reportedly exploring 2014 political run

Actress Ashley Judd wasn’t joking when she hinted at a political run just before the U.S. election – she is “seriously exploring” a 2014 bid for Senate in her adopted Kentucky.

Judd has met with Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and is researching a political career, according to news website Politico.com.

Kentucky Republican John Yarmuth, who has also met with the star, says, “She is doing all the things that a serious candidate exploring a race should do.

“I think there are a lot of people, and I was one of them, who wanted to let her know that her candidacy would be an exciting prospect for us.”

Judd has yet to comment on the latest speculation, but just last month, she dismissed reports of a political run, insisting she felt “honored” to even be considered for a Democratic Party post.

Judd was one of many celebrity attendees at the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina in September, when she spoke as a Tennessee delegate, and she has previously admitted she was seriously considering swapping Hollywood for Washington, D.C. after receiving such overwhelming support from leading members of the party.

She said, “Everybody’s thinking about it (political office) for me… and I’m at the point where so many people have asked that I feel it is honorable to at least talk about it.

“I do a lot in the U.S. with the Democrat Party at the county and national level and that may be the best use of me… but I’m just gonna listen to what people have to say and (decide) should I keep operating in the space I’m in or should I take the show to Washington? I don’t know.”